Preferred Citation Note

Extent

1 cu. ft., 190 slides

Biography/History

Elmer L. Foote served as official photographer of the Cincinnati Public Library for many years, and produced photographs that appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune during the early years of the twentieth century.

He was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut on February 27, 1863, the son of Edwin Foote and Ellen Hodges Foote, both natives of Connecticut. He came to Cincinnati about 1884 and married Estelle Allee of Cincinnati in 1888. Foote died at age 56 in Norwood, Ohio on September 21, 1919 and is buried in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Annual reports of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County listed Foote in the Circulating Department (1903-07), then as the photographer of the library (1907-1919).

Foote's obituary in the Commercial Tribune of September 22, 1919 describes him as nationally known, and mentions his "photographic genius." The article further describes Foote's pictures taken among the Cumberland Mountains and outdoor scenic snow views, appearing at intervals in the Commercial Tribune, as photographic classics.

Scope and Content

The Elmer L. Foote Collection consists of 190 images in lantern slide format taken by Foote, a Cincinnati photographer and public library staff member whose pictures appeared in the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune. The slides are both hand-colored and black and white. Most bear the label "Elmer L. Foote, maker," along with a hand-written descriptive title. The collection is contained in one drawer of a 3-drawer metal slide cabinet.

Lantern slides, glass positive transparencies, were in common use for many years all over the world. However, the exact origin of the Foote collection is unknown. Lexington Public Library records do not provide an exact date of acquisition or the donor's name. It is clear from Library Board of Trustee minutes that the library served as a place for exhibits and cultural programs in Lexington, and lantern slides were no doubt used for education and entertainment. Minutes indicate that the library purchased a projectoscope in 1912 and that a group of slides, probably distinct from the Foote slides, was donated in 1919 by the Woman's Club of Central Kentucky. Whether the Foote slides were acquired before or after that date is not known.

Individual slides are not dated, but a date range of 1900-1915 was adopted for most, based on clothing and other clues in the images. Some slides, such as the High Bridge group, could be dated more specifically. Not all the images can be attributed with certainty to Foote. In addition, the collection also contains some copy photography of older Lexington images, such as slides #104, and #114, as well as several unidentified homes and buildings.

An interesting mix, the Foote slides contain several examples of what might be called "romanticized portraiture." Some of these photographs of unidentified mountain people appear staged, perhaps intended eventually for the postcard market. Hand coloring adds to the interesting atmosphere of many of these images. Along with the portraiture are numerous scenes of mountain streams, waterfalls and scenery in the Cumberland Plateau.